This Cuisnart C550S passes our review big time because is run good and hot, has a repeater firing ignition system, and the heat is even. The grease drainage system is pretty spiffy too. We even bought a stainless steel cooking grill so we can do bacon, eggs, sausage, and pancakes for breakfast on the deck. Fantastic with the even heat.

Another bid deal for is the fact that our cook-top in the house is electric, so now we can cook with gas – which is really fast and nice. It really does make a big difference when you have a really good BBQ – everything come out better!

So when I hooked up the natural gas line(s) I had to extend it from the house and I had never done that before. I got pretty anal about the lines and hook ups I used. I also tested the full run of the line with a thick concentration of dish-washing soap and water. I smeared the soap mixture all over the fitting and connectors right from the BBQ to the house. I then turned on the natural gas valve at the house which is made of iron/steel. Checked for any natural gas smell, and checked for bubbles coming from the any of the couplers and fittings. All good – no problem. If there was a leak anywhere you would really smell it, and there would be bubbles everywhere. It would look like a Lawerence Welk barbecue event (if you are old enough, you will get that bad joke – if you are too young to get it, look up “Welk Bubble machine” in Google.

Specs From The Cuisinart Web Site

Versatile Cooking System: Three stainless steel linear burners deliver over 38,000 BTU/hr of power.

Multi Spark Electronic Ignition: Battery powered by a single “AA” battery. Reliable, safe and easy to use.

Side Burner: 11,000 BTU/hr, stainless steel burner, flame control valve and storage cover.

Porcelain Cast Iron Cooking Grates: Offers the best overall grilling surface and superior heat retention.

Porcelain Enamel Warming Area: For warming food and adding a higher level of low temperature cooking to your grill.

Porcelain Heat Distribution Plates: Disperses heat evenly across the grilling surface and provide protection for burners.

Easy Clean Grease Collection System: Makes clean-up quick and effortless. Keeping your BBQ free of grease build-up will eliminate flare-ups, grease fires, and prolong the life of your BBQ.

Black Porcelain Enamel Hood: Reinforced and double-lined to offer superior heat retention and roasting capabilities.

Space Saving: This barbecue is compact in size, making it ideal for smaller yards and patios.

The style or type we purchased is a vinyl garden shed that stands eight feet high, with a peaked roof, a door and a window. The bottom is also of vinyl or hard plastic and it all fits together in a modular style.

The Jardin storage building can be installed in approximately one hour not counting the preparation of the base and you only need a few tools. A screw driver, a small set of pliers, a mallet and a step ladder is really all you will need to put this storage shed together.

Prepare the Base

The instruction manual is very precise about the order in which everything should be put together. If you follow the instructions, you should have no problems putting the Jardin storage building together.

First step is to prepare a solid base. We chose to excavate approximately 8 inches of earth and then back filled this area with crushed stone. We self tamped the crush stone and then placed 2 foot by 2 foot cement patio stones on top of the crushed stone. You should make sure that the level of the top of the stone is an inch or so above the level of the grass to keep water and dampness from seeping inside your shed during storms.

Once the patio stones are in place, make sure they are even with each other and also level. The Jardin storage building comes with a heavy duty plastic base which all other parts fit into to form the walls. Each section is put in place and bolted in using plastic screws provided with the Jardin storage building.

Once the walls are on the next step is to place the roof on top, add the door and the windows and your done. Takes about an hour and it is pretty straight forward once you get organized.

Installing Shelves in the Jardin storage building

This shed did not come with any shelving. In fact while we were looking at various models and sizes we did not see any with shelving included. Depending on your plans you may want shelves or you may just want to place a lot of items in your shed on top of each other. In our case we added some wooden shelves using scrap wood that I had in my garage. These shelves will support pots and other smaller items that we want kept off the floor.

I thought the new Jardin storage building was lots big enough and in fact  it is just the right size for the location that we installed this shed in our back yard. We would not want anything much bigger from that perspective.

However, although my garage is a little better now that I have filled the Jardin storage building, it is full and I could have moved more items in this storage building with no trouble at all if I had the room. Now you may say well he is just a pack rat and should be throwing out some of the items instead of storing this stuff in the Jardin storage building as well as the garage. Believe me we have already thrown out everything we do not use every year in the yard for landscaping and maintenance of our gardens.

Missing Parts for the Jardin storage building

We did find that we were missing a hinge for the door once we had unpacked everything. After I had finished installing everything except the door, I went back to Home Depot were I had purchased the Jardin storage building to see if they could provide the missing parts. The guys at Home Depot checked another unit still in the box and found that it was missing the same part.

After consulting the manual, they recommended that I call the manufacturer and ask them to send the part. I was a little skeptical about this and a little miffed as well, since I really expected Home Depot to stand behind their products.

Anyway they really gave me no choice, so I had to head home and make the call. Well it turns out that this is a pretty common occurrence and it turns out that they are routinely missing parts and not always the same part. The customer service center  for Jardin, arranged to ship the part to me using UPS and it showed up a couple of days later. Turns out the service was great and the guys at Home Depot had the right approach.

Aluminum vs. PVC Storage Buildings

There are a variety of storage buildings on the market including aluminum buildings. The aluminum storage sheds were also attractive and priced competitively, however having had past experience with aluminum sheds I decided to purchase the PVC storage shed this time.

Aluminum sheds do not rust and they may even last longer than PVC that is constantly exposed to UV radiation. However we found with previous aluminum sheds they are easily damaged, they can be bent, hail stones can leave marks and branches hitting the aluminum shed during storms will also leave marks in the aluminum. Once these marks or creases in the aluminum are there it is impossible to remove them or repair them. So far our shed has survives two winters quite nicely with no damage what so ever.

I would not expect it to fade after 2 years from UV radiation, and can report that it still appears to be the the same color.

Japanese Furniture

Found a cool product for outdoor patios in an unlikely place. A site called Socul posted this article showing this amazing wicker furniture that is a “pod shape” when put away, taking up very little space, and then it quickly disassembles into some really comfortable patio furniture. Inset is what the patio furniture looks like before. To see the whole thing coming apart step by step, visit the Socul post.

I’m trying to find the price on this and a site where you can order as soon as possible. Should have that information for you before spring.

PS – if your browser allows video you’ll see a sidewalk in Japan (kind of related, but interesting) I just have a love affair with Japanese culture.